Inheritance of social dominance is associated with global sperm DNA methylation in inbred male mice.

ABSTRACT: Dominance relationships between males and their associated traits are usually heritable and have implications for sexual selection in animals. In particular, social dominance and its related male pheromones are heritable in inbred mice; thus, we wondered whether epigenetic changes due to altered levels of DNA methylation determine inheritance. Here, we used C57BL/6 male mice to establish a social dominance-subordination relationship through chronic dyadic encounters, and this relationship and pheromone covariation occurred in their offspring, indicative of heritability. Through transcriptome sequencing and whole-genome DNA methylation profiling of the sperm of both generations, we found that differential methylation of many genes was induced by social dominance-subordination in sires and c

SUBMITTER: Hou GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10120999 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature